King of Prophecy
by ArturusMyrddin
Summary: Merlin and Arthur must change a law in order to save a world. AU. Contains a made-up language which will be at the end if you are interested in actually knowing what each words would translate into English as. There is one EXPLICIT SEX scene and it is in a chapter all by itself. Skip it if you don't want to read it, you will be warned in the prior chapter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
1. Chapter 1

Merlin crawled out from inside the mass confusion of wires which made up the control panel. Hopefully the past two hours of rewiring would help his main power system to accommodate the ship's new computer. Standing up, he carefully locked the top panel down. Once that was safely in place, he tripped the circuit breaker and flipped the relay switch on. Pausing a moment to listen for the soft hum of his main system as it came on-line, he then turned on the overhead lights, automatically shutting off the red emergency lights. Once they were on, Merlin activated the weapons and security systems.

Almost immediately the lights flickered, and then remained on, only at a much dimmer glow. Shaking his head, Merlin slammed his left fist into the two inch wide wall panel on his right. Seconds later the lights slowly began to burn brighter. Looking up, he was glad to see that the ship's inner system was still able to relay its extra power to the main power grid. He only hoped that meant the main system wouldn't overload when the new computer was switched on. Crossing his fingers, Merlin turned on the hard drive and brought up the main screen. The computer began to purr, but nearly half the lights popped off while the other half began flickering in and out. Exasperated, Merlin just threw the main breaker back on. Arthur would just have to rig the computer's system into one of their five backup generators later; right now he needed a drink.

Taking an old rag from his back pocket, Merlin wiped off his greasy hands. Flinging the dirty rag onto the control panel, he turned and walked out of the room. Stopping to grab his small medic pack from the supply room, Merlin made a quick check of their supplies before stepping through the back hatch. Once outside, he paused a moment to test Huest's thin atmosphere.

The Round Table's science branch had come up with a new seventy-six hour Tri-oxide tablet, and somehow talked him into using it this trip. With only two injections of a twelve hour oxygen compound left in his medic pack, Merlin wanted to be sure that the tablet he had taken two cycles ago was still working. After a few minutes of cautious breathing, he was reassured. He quickly hit Sæsteorra's voice lock before he headed into town.

Whistling as he walked, Merlin thought over the program he planned to install once the computer was running. With a few minor changes, it should be able to calculate a jump to one destination while actually running calculations for a false destination. If the Patrol tried to track him again, he wanted them to have one hell of a surprise.

Chuckling, he turned the last corner in the five block walk from the spaceport to the bar Arthur had selected for their rendezvous. To his right he could see the lights of downtown shining brightly in the distance. While to his left he could see right into the heart of the red light district. Why Huest's spaceport had been built on this site, rather than on the other side of town, was a mystery. To Merlin it almost seemed as if someone had foreseen the type of people who would actually be using it.

Looking the bar over as he slowly crossed the street; Merlin noted the freshly painted building stood between two run-down sex shops. Only a featureless wooden door faced this street, and the nearest alley was the one he had just came out of. Overall it didn't look very inviting, but, knowing his partner as he did, Merlin had no doubt that the bar had a few hidden surprises. Walking into the dimly lit interior, his eyes were immediately drawn to the huge, flashing poster that was being raised into place on the back wall.

Reading it, Merlin got the distinct impression that there was something about Avalon that concerned him. So he read it through again, a little slower, trying to figure out what it was.

**ATTENTION ROUND TABLE MEMBERS: 500 GOLD BARS**

** OFFERED IF YOU'RE WILLING TO FIGHT HOSTILE**

** INVADERS: HALF PAY UP FRONT: APPLY IN PERSON**

** AT NEW BARY-D SPACEPORT ON AVALON.**

** AELFRIC REGINALD DREW**

** MINISTER**

** AVALON THRONE**

The feeling of a connection persisted but Merlin was still unable to put his finger on why. He frowned in thought as he absently weaved his way through the crowded tables to the bar. It wasn't until after he ordered a beer, and sat down on the only empty stool, that he noticed who was working on getting the swaying poster into place. Smiling, he called out to his old friend.

"Hey, Geoff, that sign's about as straight as you are."

Instant silence swept the room as all eyes swung in Merlin's direction. Everyone seemed to be waiting for Geoffrey's reaction to Merlin's words. Barely noticing the tension, Merlin watched as Geoffrey slowly finished hanging the giant poster, and then turn to sweep the crowd with his gaze. Seconds later, contact was made.

Merlin winced as Geoffrey gave him the once over, wondering if Geoff saw the scrawny kid with a head full of black curls or his real form. When Geoffrey grabbed a bottle of liqueur and an old piano stool from behind the bar, Merlin figured he was about to find out. Once Geoffrey was settled in the seat across from him, the old fighter laughed.

"Why, hello, youngster. What the hell brings you out to this part of the galaxy?"

Merlin felt the tension ease as the patrons relaxed and went back to their own conversations. Chuckling with his friend, he just shrugged.

"Not much of anything, Geoff. Just needed to rewire the ship and pick up a few things." Nodding slightly to indicate the poster he asked, "What's up with that? Don't tell me that someone is finally thinking of taking on Vivian."

"Yep. Seems that a young security advisor of theirs convinced the High Council they need to combine our down and dirty fighting with the Patrol's war skills." Geoffrey shrugged, knowing it sounded crazy. "Took nigh on to three days for them to reach a decision but in the end they agreed. So after a quick ceremony, elevating Aelfric to the minister position, me and Kay were sent out to spread the word to the rest of the Guild."

His mind wondering, Merlin absently corrected Geoffrey, "Kay and I."

As he tried to put his thoughts in order, Merlin picked up a glass and took a small sip. Instantly he began coughing and his disguise flickered. Geoffrey immediately spilled drinks everywhere and began yelling for napkins. He created such a ruckus that no one paid the least bit of attention to Merlin's plight. Once everything was back under control, Geoffrey leaned over to whisper in Merlin's ear.

"Pay attention, kid. You almost gave the gig away there. What are you doing drinking anyway?"

Merlin sighed, "I was thirsty. I thought you had managed to switch it to something I could drink when you sat down."

"They don't carry any non-alcoholic drinks here. Hold on a minute and I'll see what I can scrounge up."

Merlin reluctantly waited as Geoffrey disappeared behind the bar. Sometimes being a highly respected criminal was the pits. Between Geoffrey, Kay, and Arthur he often wondered if he would ever be able to just be himself in this universe.

When Geoffrey finally returned with a glass full of a strange orange liquid Merlin asked, "What exactly were Kay and you doing on Avalon anyway?"

Geoffery nervously shifted in his seat. His eyes everywhere but on Merlin's face. "Uh, where's Arthur? Isn't he usually right behind you?"

"Yeah, but he went into town for those things we needed. So right now I'm on my own." Merlin couldn't help a small satisfied smile when he saw that he once again had the older man's complete attention. Arthur was not one to break his word and speak the local language, and with his reputation for violence Arthur's kind had he could attract trouble with his mere presence. Only Arthur's assurance that his contact on Huest would expect him to be alone had kept Merlin from going with his friend.

Focusing on Geoffrey again, he pushed for an answer. "Now, no changing the subject. Why were you two on Avalon?"

"Uh, we just checked on something. For Arthur. Nothing really important."

Merlin's eyes narrowed as he studied his friend's guilty expression. Something was up, and his best chance for getting an answer lay here. Experience had taught him that no amount of maneuvering would get an answer out of Arthur. Taking a deep breath, he pitched his voice as low and menacing as he could. "And what exactly were you checking on?"

Geoffrey paled and frantically looked around. "Uh, we...um…."

"Geoffrey!"

When he saw the big guy jump at his shout, and bite his lip in defeat, Merlin thought he was finally going to get some answers. Only, immediately afterwards, he saw hope and relief appear in Geoffrey's pale blue eyes. Frowning, he followed Geoff's gaze over his shoulder, through the panicked patrons, to the figure outlined in the doorway. Merlin groaned in dismay, and silently bid farewell to his hopes of getting the information out of Geoffrey. For there in the doorway stood his partner, Arthur.

Watching his hero move across the room, Merlin couldn't help a slight grin as patrons on either side warily drew their sidearms, or disappeared behind their overturned tables. The planet Camelot had been one of the first to fall under Vivian's evil rule. Ever since then the surviving Knights had been killing all those not of their creed, just as they had done centuries before. As a result, Arthur ended up facing that fear whenever he stepped out of their ship.

Usually Merlin hated it as much as Arthur did, but this time he decided to use the panic and confusion to his advantage. It wasn't often that he got to eye Arthur the way he wanted to, in public anyway. Now he took the chance to drink in the magnificent creature coming toward him. Merlin could feel his heart beat faster as he watched Arthur's sensual walk, and he could imagine the feel of Arthur's thick, dusty-blond hair as he ran his fingers through it. The small, thin loincloth at Arthur's waist the only barrier between them.

He was so caught up in his fantasy that he failed to perceive the total silence as Arthur came to a stop in front of him. It took a sharp rap in the arm from Locklear, and a soft, warning growl from Arthur to bring him back to reality. Embarrassed, Merlin cocked his head up and smiled at his partner.

"You always did have a tendency for grand entrances."

Arthur growled again as he settled into the hastily vacated stool to Merlin's left. Slowly, the tension in the bar eased as patrons began to realize who this particular Knight was. Geoffrey quickly drew Arthur a pitcher of sweet lotus brandy. Shooting a warning glance at Merlin, he moved his stool a few inches down the bar, giving them enough space to be alone, yet at the same time still in a position to overhear their every word. Shaking his head, Merlin turned to Arthur, only to find his pal giving him a very hard stare.

"What?" He asked, his voice coming out high and squeaky.

Arthur continued to stare at him. In his eyes Merlin could read a gentle rebuke and a promise of later. Blushing, Merlin hung his head and shifted uncomfortably on his stool. After a few moments of silence, he remembered the poster.

"Uh, Arthur, how about we check out the action on Avalon? There's something about that planet that calls to me." He shot a quick look into Arthur's suspicious sky blue eyes and concluded with, "Unless you have something already set up for us."

Arthur shifted his gaze to the poster. After a few more minutes of silence, he gave Merlin a quick nod. Then, after draining his pitcher, he reached for Merlin's hand and hauled him to his feet. Merlin quickly tossed the last of their cash to the bartender as Arthur dragged him out. On the way, he glanced around. Geoffrey was working his way through the patrons, stopping every now and then to have a quick word with one or two. His last glance back through the door showed him that many of those patrons were now scurrying out the back. Apparently Geoffrey had correctly interpreted Arthur's nod as agreement to Merlin's idea. All Arthur and he needed to do was make one or two stops before leaving. Even without the Quadlight, they would still be able to arrive on Avalon a few cycles before most of the other Round Table members. Perhaps between now and then he would be able to come up with a way to find out what Arthur might know about his strange connection with Avalon.


	2. Chapter 2

The midnight sky was calm and clear until a blazing comet rocketed across it, plummeting downward in a ball of flame and smoke. A loud explosion rent the night air, and for a moment the comet's outline showed itself as a crippled ship rushing wildly to its doom.

Inside the smoking inferno, Arthur and Merlin fought desperately against the pull of gravity as they approached the Bary-D spaceport. Frantically feeding information into the navigational computer, Merlin tried to call up the coordinates for the landing strip. Finally, in frustration, he slammed his fist into the console.

"Damn," he softly muttered, hoping Arthur wouldn't hear him.

He quickly had those hopes dashed as he heard his friend say, "Zot ab im eys."

"I told you so," Merlin mimicked as he rubbed his sore knuckles. Flashing Arthur an evil look, he said, "It's just plain stupid to invite someone to your war, then hide your spaceport's location coordinates in a computer loop buried beneath secret files and dead ends. If we manage to live through this mess I want you to reprogram this thing. I don't want to be worrying about updated security programs ever again. Also, you'll need to rewire everything. It was probably the new computer relay that caused the engine to overload and the primary power cell to explode. Have you tried the radio? We may be able to trace them through their signal."

Struggling with the faltering controls, Merlin kept one eye on the controls and gauges, while he watched Arthur reach back to flip on the ship's communication center. Static blared through the cockpit an instant before giving way to an explosion of electrical wires, showering sparks everywhere. At Arthur's roar of pain, Merlin moved so he could work both panels at once.

"You'll need to get the fire extinguisher; the fire control system is off line. I can handle things here, I think."

Arthur refused to budge. "Mai seda, yifs kuan im. Tah nihoga sey i."

Merlin was confused. "Where the hell was your contact during all this? I'm sure he could have straightened it out, or gotten you a replacement."

Arthur shrugged and looked a little sheepish. Shaking his head, Merlin guessed the rest. Apparently Arthur's contact had not been with him, and the terrified shop personnel had not stopped to look beyond Arthur's appearance to the person underneath. It was an aspect of his friend's life he knew helped deflect attention but he still resented the need for it. He always figured that with Arthur's odd blue eyes, unusual blond hair, and uncommonly noble Knight stature he should be easily recognized, or even unmasked. Only Arthur never was, something to do with his crazy power's protection according to Arthur, and Merlin was learning to look on with a bit of humor as everyone scrambled for their lives when Arthur appeared.

Turning back to his side, Merlin scanned the rapidly approaching landscape. With a bit of luck they might be able to spot an open area in which to crash land before the fire got too far out of control. Minutes later the force of Arthur's paw on his back jolted him around as his partner shouted in triumph.

"Sey nam rueg!"

Wincing in pain, Merlin scowled as he found his sight obscured by a huge cloud of smoke. Apparently Arthur had spotted the small spaceport, but Merlin would be unable to help him land with all this smoke.

"It looks like the insulation's going on the radio, Arthur. As you **still **haven't put in a working cut-off on it, I'll need to go disconnect it from the old engine if I want to see well enough to help you bring her in. You take over here."

As he moved back out of the way, Arthur stepped into the center, offering Merlin a cocky smile as he did so. Arthur's smile looked more like a tiger's snarl, but it had brightened his mood, which was what his friend had intended to do. On his way through the short corridor to their bedroom, Merlin wondered how many more years it would be before the big guy remembered that Merlin was a warlock, and not one of his fellow Knights. It would sure be nice to be able to lose a few of his more colorful bruises.

As he ran into the bedroom Merlin went sliding across the wet floor, almost banging into the back wall before coming to a halt. He made a face as he looked up at the sprinklers. Water was hissing from the ceiling in a steady down pour, drenching everything in their room. He should have known that the only fire control system working on the entire ship would be the backup Arthur had insisted be installed in conjunction with this room's regular system.

Merlin carefully made his way around the bed to the left back corner, once there he pushed at the junction of the two walls. Slowly the section of wall between the corner and the bed swung sideways. On one wall a small indentation appeared next to the opening. He quickly pressed his thumb into the indentation and turned on the small light in the concealed space. He squeezed into the snug passageway and entered the old family cruiser's code into the security box just inside. Only then was he able to move into the small room beyond. He now stood in what appeared to be a tiny walk-in closet, but was in fact the ship's old engine room. Going to the back wall, Merlin flipped it down. This gave him a clear view of the massive hydro-turbine that powered the newer ship.

When he had first installed the turbine they had still been using the control room up above, in the old family planet hopper. When they had added on, and moved the cockpit, all of the newer systems had come with their own, separate cut-off switches. Thus making it an easy task to connect them to the newer engine. Actually the radio and sprinkler system were the only two functions left on the older engine; mainly because those systems hadn't shut-off switches that worked for almost nine years.

They had tucked the old atomic engine behind the newer hydro-turbine, and surrounded it with thousands upon thousands of multi-colored wires. The end result looked like a tiny labyrinth and made repair work very difficult. Using a pair of small wire cutters he had snatched up on his way through the corridor, Merlin carefully reached in and around to snip the radio's aquamarine wire in half. Then, pausing a second to find exactly what he was looking for, he shifted around so he could open the turbine's water relay to the backup sprinklers.

Fastening the wall back into place, Merlin walked back and reactivated the security box. Squeezing back out into their room, Merlin turned off the inner light and pushed the swinging wall back into place. With a rueful sigh, Merlin realized that it would be almost impossible to find anything dry to change into; especially in this mess. Disgusted he threw the wire cutters onto their unmade bed. At least with the sprinkler system disconnected it couldn't get any worse, and once they made port he would find a way to change the two systems over. His life would be a lot easier if he could finally trash that old engine.

Resigned to his wet clothes, Merlin trotted out of their room, intending to head back to the cockpit to help Arthur with the ship. Only, as he stepped out into the corridor, the ship went into a spin. Thrown to the floor with the first sharp twist, Merlin frantically tried to get a secure grip on something as he violently tumbled.

"Fucking shit!" He screamed as he felt his left palm rip open. Glancing down at what he had grabbed onto he could see why, a ragged corner of metal glistened wetly up at him through the bloody mess of his hand. Hopefully it hadn't hit anything vital, but as it had sliced clean through his hand it looked like a good bet that it had.

As the artificial gravity went in and out, Merlin found himself pulled in different directions as the ship continued to roll. Gritting his teeth he managed to secure his position, then he carefully pulled his mangled hand free of the metal, only to have the next spin almost tear his right arm out of its socket. Thankfully the ship had begun to slow by this time. A few minutes later, it settled into a very slight rocking motion, but the blasted thing had stopped turning a shade too soon, leaving the craft upside down.

For a few seconds Merlin could feel the ship's gravity well adjusting slowly back to normal, than with a click it turned off completely. Weightless, he let himself drop from his perch and used his right hand to guide his body forward the last few feet to the cockpit. Just as he reached the doorway the backup came on, and the ship took a sharp nose dive, throwing him forward into Arthur's broad back. Arthur groaned at the blow, even as he fought to straighten them out. Merlin painfully sat up. Thankfully their gravity well was strong enough to counter Avalon's double gravity. Thus it was easy for him to stand on the floor, reach around Arthur, and begin working Sæsteorra into an upright position. Slowly but surely they stabilized.

Helping Arthur out of the emergency harness, Merlin nudged him over and into the pilot's chair. A quick glance forward showed that they were now over a thick strand of trees.

"I don't see the landing strip, Arthur. Do you remember what direction we need to go to get to it?"

Arthur snorted, and flipped a thumb over his right shoulder. Merlin rolled his eyes upward at the thought of turning the ship completely around. Heaving a resigned sigh, he quickly reviewed his options.

"First take everything off-line. Then reroute that power through the piloting controls. That should give us what we need to safely turn her around."

Working as a team, they soon had the ship on four of the backup systems. Slowly and carefully Arthur began turning the ship around. Merlin sat with his eyes closed until he felt Arthur stop the ship's motion. Opening his eyes, Merlin smiled.

"Okay, now that we're heading in the right direction, how far back do you think it is?"

Arthur growled, causing Merlin to look over at him questioningly. Arthur was pointing to the far edge of the trees. Merlin squinted into the distance as he followed the line of Arthur's finger. This was another area that his friend was always forgetting about. Arthur was able to see almost twice as far as he could. Fortunately it only took him a few minutes before he was actually able to see the edge of the landing field. It seemed to start just a few feet from the strand of trees they were flying over.

"All right, we've made it. If we can keep her nose up as we come in, we might just walk away from this one. I hope they have at least the basic emergency equipment here, I don't want to lose this baby to fire if we get her down intact."

Sæsteorra streaked toward the landing strip like a flaming arrow, and Merlin chuckled a little as he watched the construction workers at the end of the field scatter like frightened rabbits.

"Geh char fash, nig gisa hote!"

Glaring angrily at Arthur, Merlin yelled back, "Never mind me, you big oaf! Strap yourself in before we hit!"

After Arthur had fastened his seatbelt, Merlin loosely snapped on his. They both now concentrated on fighting both the ship and the pull of gravity. Somehow they managed to clear the trees, only to have the engine sputter and stop a few inches from the edge of the landing strip. Merlin braced himself for impact as Sæsteorra dropped like a stone, plowing into the open space between the trees and the strip.

Sirens blared as makeshift emergency vehicles raced toward the smoking ship. Screeching to a halt, vans and trucks erupted in a blaze of activity. Volunteers grabbed outdated fire extinguishers and old shovels as they raced to the spacecraft. Sparks of electricity gave a faint testimony to the ship's unusual high-powered security system, as they desperately pounded on the hatch.

As the volunteers scrambled around the dented black hull, the council's documentary crew pulled up in their new van. Watching as they quickly unloaded their new, updated equipment, several of the volunteers muttered beneath their breath. The main cities of Avalon had been destroyed during the war with Adrian IV. Since the peace treaty had been signed nineteen years ago, things had gone from bad to worse for the lower caste.

Those in the higher two castes, along with those who had connections to the High Council, lived the life of ease and wealth. While those in the lower three castes worked at "voluntary" positions, with tools that they supplied themselves. The lower castes were unable to have a home or family because of this, while those in the higher two castes had two homes and huge, extended families. Volunteers, like those in the rescue squads, tried their best but most of their equipment was old, rusty, and always failing at critical times. At the cost of many lives.

One of the first things the Council had done, on the advice of Aelfric, was to decree the old, dilapidated spaceport high priority. That had put it under one of the higher castes stewardship, thus its current tip-top condition. This combined with seeing the Council's new crew arriving with the most advanced technical equipment available, while they tried to fight a fire with shovels, did nothing for the volunteers' flagging spirits.

It was into this tension-filled atmosphere that Arthur appeared when the warped hatch suddenly swung downward. Workers stumbled backwards a few steps as Arthur was outlined in the shadowery interior. He hesitated a moment on the edge of the hatch. Merlin lay gently cradled in his huge powerful arms, close to Arthur's muscular chest. As Arthur's wary gaze took the measure of the volunteers, Merlin drifted into hazy semiconsciousness.

Turning pain-filled eyes onto the crowd below, Merlin saw two men bolt for a light blue van and grab a gurney. Fading out again, Merlin felt Arthur move a step and stop, then he heard Arthur growl a soft warning. Forcing his eyes open, Merlin looked at his blood-soaked body. A soft pale light seemed to flicker in and out. Merlin softly groaned, causing Arthur to glance down at him.

"Disguise. Need to keep an eye on the spell," he said before relaxing and letting the darkness take him. He knew that his words had alerted Arthur to the possible loss of the protection which surrounded his true form. Arthur would keep an eye on him, watching to be sure Merlin's power continued to guard him and maintained its human illusion.

Still, his unconscious mind worried. It allowed him only a few moments of quiet before filling his mind with a picture of what was happening in the makeshift ambulance. What it showed him was a mild struggle between Arthur and the man who was riding in the back with them. Arthur absolutely refused to let the man close enough to assess Merlin's injuries. Arthur seemed to have a real tight hold on his temper, so Merlin didn't feel the need to force himself back to consciousness. He hoped that the two men wouldn't be in a lot of trouble when they arrived at the hospital without any information for the doctor.

As the van careened into the hospital's narrow driveway, Merlin winced as he saw Arthur's shoulder hit the rear doors. Seconds later, he felt the gurney being lifted up and out, even as the van slid to a jarring halt in front of the hospital's emergency doors. As they hurried inside Merlin's view shifted so he could see the nurse who was striding toward them.

"What are we looking at here, boys?" she asked as she directed Arthur to a nearby room.

The two volunteers seemed to give her a look of frustration as they followed Arthur down the corridor. The one on the left jerked a thumb in Arthur's direction, "He wouldn't let me near enough to find out."

The one trotting just behind Arthur nodded, "Yeah. We've only been trained in basic first aid, you know. Not strong arm tactics. There's only so much we can do in cases like this."

The nurse shook her head in disappointment as she opened the door to the room for them. "Dr. Wilson and Nurse Carmen are inside with Aelfric, along with those two liaisons of his. One of them should be able to sort this mess out. Tell the doctor that as soon as the blood arrives, I'll bring it in."

Arthur pushed the gurney past her and into the crowded room. Once inside, he let loose with a shout of joy and recognition. Hearing it, Merlin gave up on the picture in his mind and opened his eyes a crack. Slowly he inched his head around until he could see the two figures that leaned against the back wall. Smiling, he silently forgave Arthur for blasting his eardrums with that shout, for there stood one of their closest friends, Kay At that moment, Kay let loose with a loud war cry.

"Yes!" he yelled as he turned and slapped hands with a younger version of himself. "Geoffrey was right. I told you that ship's crazy description sounded familiar. Once we get the word out that these two are actually here, we'll have the rest of the Round Table here in no time flat. We should even see a lot of the troublemakers begin to toe the line once the kid is back on his feet. Listen, son, why don't you go gather up the members that are already here. That way I can talk to Arthur."

The youngster nodded his agreement before taking his leave. Kay waited until he was out the door before moving over next to Arthur. Merlin watched and waited. This should prove interesting.

"Do you think Merlin'll pull out of this one okay?"

Merlin saw Arthur lean over and quickly closed his eyes. If Arthur knew he was awake, Merlin was sure the big guy would make him answer Kay. It would be more fun to see how Arthur would answer him especially as he had promised to only talk in the language Merlin had made up for them to use with each other back when they had first appeared in this crazy universe. He always had taken his code of honor seriously but with Merlin injured he might just bend his ethics a little.

As he felt himself lifted up out of the gurney and over onto the examination table, he knew that Arthur was stalling for time. Then, just before Arthur let go of him, he felt his friend shrug in answer to Kay's question. Merlin secretly smiled before allowing himself to relax once more into the painless darkness, apparently it would take more than this for Arthur to break his promise which meant Merlin wasn't as injured as he felt. Seconds before the darkness completely took him the sound of a young woman's voice caught, and pulled him back.

"Oh great, just what we need around here, more riffraff to run wild through our streets."

Merlin wanted to speak up and correct her assumption, but he just couldn't seem to find the strength. Instead, he found himself listening as Kay tried to set her straight.

"No, Dr. Wilson. What you have here are the only two people capable of keeping the Round Table in line. So, if I were you, I would do whatever it took to keep this one alive."

As the doctor acknowledged Kay's words, Merlin heard a man's burst of laughter from over by the door.

"Yeah, right. Now, why don't I believe you?"

Merlin let out a soft whisper of protest as he struggled to open his eyes. Sure enough, there was Kay going straight for the young man's throat. Thankfully, a tall, skinny looking man intercepted Jasper before he could get there. Merlin watched as the man pulled Kay over to a nearby desk. Closing his eyes, Merlin concentrated on hearing what the two had to say.

"What do you want, Aelfric?" Kay seemed almost to snarl out the question, but apparently Aelfric was made of sterner stuff than most. All he did was smile.

"Calm down. I just need to get a few things straight. Now the Knight I'll believe but this kid can't be more than sixteen. He can't possibly have that much influence with those hardened criminals of yours." Aelfric seemed to pause a moment, as if thinking it out. "Surely you can't mean that this youngster is the legendary Merlin?" Merlin almost laughed with the guy, knowing how it must seem to those outside of the Round Table. "That's crazy, Kay. No mere child could have that much of a reputation. Not unless he had a lot of help in establishing it." Merlin grimaced at that statement. If Aelfric guessed the truth behind the myth, they might be in serious trouble. "I'm sorry, Jasper, I just don't buy it, and frankly, I don't have the time to listen to one of you outrageous stories right now. So, do us both a favor and cut straight to the truth. Who, exactly, is this kid?"

Kay opened his mouth to answer; only a low warning snarl from Arthur had him glancing over toward the medical bed. Then, with a muttered oath, he strode rapidly out of the room. Aelfric watched him go, got up and, after a brief word with the nurse, he followed him out. The nurse made a notation on Merlin's chart before moving next to Arthur.

Working around the Knight as best they could, the doctor had the nurse help him try to strip Merlin's clothes off. Merlin closed his eyes and relaxed. For a moment he contemplated escaping into the darkness, only to realize that Arthur would probably continue to cause problems.

Merlin's assumption was right. For at that moment, Doctor Wilson and the nurse were having their hands full trying to examine Merlin's injuries. They finally got their chance when the head nurse came into the room with a plasma sack. Her sudden appearance caused Arthur to glance toward the door for a brief moment. This gave Doctor Wilson the opportunity to quickly cut the last remnants of Merlin's clothes off, and at the same time the nurse hastily reached for the patient's wrist. Arthur immediately turned and grabbed the nurse by the collar, lifting him high in the air. The head nurse carefully placed the plasma down on a nearby self and rushed to help. She bravely began wrestling with Arthur's forearm, completely ignoring his growls of warning. Using this chaos to her advantage, Dr. Wilson quickly tried to get a rough idea of the type of injuries they were dealing with. Only to find her efforts impeded by what seemed to be an invisible body shield, which appeared to be engaged about a centimeter from the patient's skin.

It was this confused, but potentially violent, scene that Merlin saw when he once again weekly opened his eyes. Fighting to stay conscious, Merlin urgently whispered a few words of assurance to his partner. "Arthur, it's all right. I'll take care…later."

It wasn't much. In fact it was a bluff, but as he drifted back into darkness Merlin silently prayed that Arthur would realize that they had to chance it right now. If they waited much longer, it was quite possible that he would lose his disguise spell before Arthur could get him out of this mess. Resting, he once again tuned into his mind's eye of the room to see what Arthur would do.

Arthur stood a moment, staring at his friend, debating with his heart. Finally, reaching a decision, he put the nurse down and moved back out of the way. The trio looked at each other in surprise and trepidation. With the patient's strange body shield in the way, there wasn't much they could do for him. When no one moved, Arthur let loose with an ear shattering yell. Looking at each other, the trio shrugged. They moved in as if to do a work-up.

The doctor placed his stethoscope on Merlin's chest, expecting to be stopped by the body shield. When he wasn't, he quickly motioned to the two nurses to try their luck. Amazingly enough the body shield seemed to have been dropped and was, thankfully, no longer an impediment to their work. The two nurses hastily worked together to setup the blood transfusion, send off various tests, and take a dozen or so X-rays. Dr. Wilson proceeded to take stock of her patient's injuries by feel alone, instead of waiting around for the lab results.

The trio was so involved in their tasks that they completely forgot about Arthur's presence until Dr. Wilson reached to remove the small, midnight black kerchief from around Merlin's throat. Merlin thought for a moment that he would have to rouse himself once again when Arthur growled low in his throat, causing the trio to jump. Thankfully all that happened was that the doctor glanced at the menacing Knight and decided to leave the kerchief on, but she did motion for Arthur to leave the room. When Arthur nodded slightly, as if in answer to some inner thought, then turn to slip into the hallway to wait, Merlin breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Now he could forget about watching and just relax, trusting his protection spells to bear up through the next few hours.

Three hours later, one of the nurses wheeled Merlin out of the room and into a nearby elevator. Following him inside, Arthur risked a quick glance at his partner's neck as they rode up to the fourth floor. He sighed in relief when he saw that the faint glow of Merlin's dragon tattoo was still there, hidden from sight by Merlin's neckerchief. When the doors opened, Arthur followed the stretcher down the hallway to the intensive care unit. He silently watched as the nurse carefully installed Merlin into one of the empty beds and hooked up the monitors. Standing out of the way, yet still close enough to be able to overhear, Arthur listened as the nurse told the monitoring nurse what to watch for.

"Besides the sixteen stitches to the patient's left palm, he has a shattered kneecap and three cracked ribs. Also a very severe concussion, which, fortunately, shows no signs of a subdural hematoma on the CAT scan. Dr. Wilson says the patient's electroencephalogram looks strange, so you need to monitor the patient very closely, and Aelfric also wishes to be informed of any changes." His report done, the nurse hung Merlin's chart on the end of the bed and left.

Arthur doubled checked Merlin's injured palm, apparently his friend's healing had already gone into affect. Once satisfied that it wasn't overly obvious that the hand was healing faster than normal, he moved to the end of the bed so he could stand guard. Fifteen minutes later, Merlin slowly opened his eyes. What he saw caused him to softly chuckle. Across the small room, just to the left of his bed, the petite monitoring nurse was bravely trying to remove a very stubborn Arthur from the room.

Merlin slowly began to remove the various monitors as he watched the confrontation between his friend and the nurse. Just when it looked like Arthur was at the end of his patience, Merlin disconnected the electroencephalograph. Almost immediately the room was filled with the sound of ringing alarms. When the nurse turned at the sound and began to head for his bed, Merlin was glad to see Kay appear in the doorway. For as the nurse moved to stop him, Arthur growled a fierce warning deep in his throat. Thankfully the nurse hesitated and Kay was able to lay a gentle hand on Arthur's arm.

"Easy, Arthur. I'll watch her. Why don't you go help Merlin, and I'll go do something about those alarms. Okay?" Kay quietly reassured Arthur before walking over to the nurse's desk to turn off the alarms.

Arthur rumbled a resigned agreement to Jasper as he ambled over to help Merlin. Confronted by both of Merlin's protectors, the nurse sighed in defeat and stomped back to her desk to place a call to Dr. Wilson's office. Struggling to sit up, Merlin laughed as Kay frowned down at the nurse's head.

"Kay, she does have her job to think of, you know." Waving Arthur off, Merlin said, "You two didn't really think that you would be able to completely stop her, did you?"

As his two protectors just grinned sheepishly at each other, Merlin took the time to rest on the edge of his bed. Arthur shrugged, and asked Kay, "Gacknay Sæsteorraditcean uali?"

Merlin had to smile at the look on Kay's face, and shake his head in exasperation at Arthur, "Don't mind him, Kay. Arthur's just trying to be funny. Translated, he wants to know where our ship is. We'll do our own damage report later."

"Oh," Kay said as he glanced from Arthur to Merlin, then back again. "Well, after we stole her from their repair bunker, we locked her in the most secure berth we could find. Even that's not up to Merlin's rigid standard, so don't be surprised when you can open it in no time at all, even without the key. It's about two blocks over." He scowled a little as he said, "That is, if you cut across, instead of following the road. Berth fifty-eight."

Merlin rose unsteadily to his feet and moved so he could place a shaky hand on Arthur's arm. With more energy than he actually felt, he said, "Well, in that case, let's get out of here."

As the trio moved toward the door, Dr. Wilson appeared to block their way out. Pointing a finger at Merlin, she said, "Hold it right there, buster. You're not going anywhere. I've only **just** finished patching you up. You shouldn't even be awake yet, never mind walking around. Get back into that bed before you collapse."

"Don't worry, Doc," Merlin said as Arthur helped him over to the doorway. "I'll be all right once I get to my ship," he assured her as Arthur reached out and lifted the doctor out of their way.

When Arthur set her down just inside, Kay rushed to trap her against the wall. This gave Arthur and Merlin the chance to slowly make their way down the hallway and into the elevator. Riding the elevator down, Merlin leaned against Arthur's strong chest. Reaching the main floor, Arthur helped Merlin walk down the short corridor to their left and out the rear fire exit, into the street. Once outside, Merlin allowed Arthur enfold him in gentle arms and carry him down the street.

They had only gone about ten paces north when Kay came running out of the building to catch them. Upon reaching them, Kay quickly guided them across the street and into a nearby alley. One block later, Kay ducked into a dark street behind an old, rundown brothel. Weaving around vagrants and trash bins, it wasn't long before Kay stopped just to the right of a dim streetlight. Bending over to see better, he struggled to unlock the antique, warped doors on the old and faded airline hanger. Kay was too involved in his battle to notice Arthur's deepening scowl, or the slowly approaching figure from the south. Only Merlin's inner warning system registered the potential danger, causing him to softly moan as images jumped painfully across his closed eyelids.

Aelfric was in his office shifting through vague references, crazy stories, and false trails when monitoring nurse called him with the update on Merlin's condition. Aelfric listened to the report, and muttered complaints with only half his attention. After assuring the distraught nurse that he would talk to the youngster about returning to the hospital, he hung up and went back to the mess on his desk.

Mixed in with all the other stuff was every unclassified report, all that he had been able to get the Patrol to release to him. After a few hours of intense digging he had been able to find several, small, handwritten footnotes scattered throughout the original planet reports. Somehow, he had failed to see them before. Now he read over each and every one, looking for some clue to the mystery that seemed to surround the Round Table's young leaders.

In each case, an unknown guardsman had made a note that on the same day of a substantial bank heist a sizable contribution to a local charity had been made, one that almost exactly fit the amount of the theft. No follow-up was mentioned in any of the cases, and when Aelfric inquired he found that no one had any idea what he was talking about. After talking to his last contact, about a report from Huest that was dated a little over a month ago, he concluded that this tangle was somehow an answer, if he could only figure out the right question to ask.

Turning to his desk top computer, Aelfric plugged into the central brain and entered in what information he had. As the machine whirred and hummed he straightened up his desk, sorting everything into two piles. Finally, his computer beeped as it printed out a single sentence. Swearing under his breath as he read it, Aelfric vowed to settle the matter right then. So, stuffing the printout into his back pocket, he closed up his office and headed down into the Round Table's hanger section. After checking in with the repair berth, he began to make his way from the hanger bay to hanger bay. Towards nightfall he finally spotted Arthur in the distance. Braking into a swift trot he quickly began to close in on the trio, unaware that Merlin was being briefed about Aelfric's find.

As the last of the images faded from his mind, Merlin slowly opened his eyes and looked beyond Arthur to see how close Aelfric was to them. He was amazed to see that while he had been watching the pictures of Aelfric's mid-day, time had slowed. He still had plenty of time to draw Kay's attention to the approaching figure before Arthur became aware of the potential danger. Moaning, ever so slightly he got both of them to look at him in concern. Then, while distracting his partner with a slight movement of his injured hand, he quickly wiggled his eyebrows at Kay and rolled his eyes in the direction of Aelfric's approach. Luckily, Kay got the hint right off, and after a quick, hard body slam that opened the rusted doors, he hurried over to intercept Aelfric.

Arthur barely noticed his leaving as he stepped into the hanger and kicked the doors shut behind him. Walking the short space between the doors and their ship, Arthur made a mental note to fix the doors and upgrade their locking mechanism. Turning left, he walked alongside the dented ship. In a few strides he was down and around the front of the craft. As he walked pass the front, he noticed that it was folded inward. Shaking his head, he walked around, and down the left side of the ship. When he got to about midpoint of the ship he barked twice to activate the hatch's self-opening feature, praying that it was still on-line. To his amazement, the hatch slowly opened and the ramp slid downward to the floor just in front of him. Striding onto the short ramp he carefully carried his friend up and into the dark ship.

Riding forward and slightly around to the left, he went further into the bowels of the ship breathing a sigh of relief. It seemed that the backup system was working as crazy as ever, even on Merlin's little extras. That meant that he wouldn't have to try to figure them out himself. Rounding a corner he remembered back to when he had first stolen Sæsteorra. It had been much smaller, and a whole lot easier to understand, back when it could only to carry a family of three to safety, without weapons or a sleeping area. Sometimes he still wondered how much of the ship was real, and how much depended on the power of Merlin's mind.

Suddenly the sound of a loud bell filled the ship, startling Arthur. Looking around, he realized the floor had stopped moving and that he now stood in front of his lover's workroom door. In fact, it seemed that he had been standing there for a few minutes thereby setting off the alarm. Turning sideways he shouldered open the door and carried Merlin inside. Walking through the wet mess of Merlin's workroom, he tried to find a dry spot to lay his lover down so that he could find the shortcut from here into their room. All he could see were clothes everywhere, books and tools were piled on the lone chair, and about half an inch of water on the floor. He shook his head in disgust as he waded through the soggy mess to the bathroom. Once inside the huge, luxurious bathroom he gently laid Merlin in the tub and then started to lightly tap on the wall around the commode.

After checking more than half the wall, Arthur was beginning to wonder if his hunch was wrong. Just then he heard a small groan come from the depths of the tub. Turning he moved so he could kneel down beside his friend. Reaching out, he lightly stroked Merlin's hand as he began to hum a soft lullaby. A small smile appeared on his face and his eyelids fluttered open. Weary, pain filled eyes met Arthur's anxious ones.

"Door's on the other side. Open the medicine cabinet," he whispered just before drifting off again.

Softly laughing, Arthur leaned over and kissed his lover's forehead. Then standing up he turned to walk over to the right wall and carefully opened the small medicine cabinet. Nothing happened. Shaking his head, he slammed the cabinet closed and turned just in time to see the opposite wall reappear. Arthur used his left hand to rub his eyes, while snaking his other hand around and behind to reopen the medicine cabinet. Slowly, from the middle out, the opposite wall disappeared. Now he could see into their bedroom from the bathroom of Merlin's workroom. Chuckling a little at his lover's idiosyncrasies, Arthur scooped his partner up and carried him into the bedroom. Lowering him carefully onto the king size bed, Arthur was surprised to see his soulmate's eyes were half open with a small smile gracing his face.

"Found it I see."

Arthur just grunted as he quickly swept the room with his eyes. Then leaning close to his friend's ear he whispered, "Yeah, I found your little shortcut into our room. Through the opposite wall, the one that sounds solid."

Chuckling, Merlin whispered back, "I know that my love."

Arthur laughed as he tucked his young partner beneath the satin cover. Then kissing his forehead, Arthur sat back on his haunches to watch over his soulmate until he went into a healing sleep, only as he looked down his gaze was caught up in his lover's golden blue eyes causing time to slow as the two of them were caught in the pull of desire. Arthur reached to lightly caress Merlin's cheek, gently trailing the tips of his right hand down the curve of his left cheek. Slowly Arthur leaned in closer, just as another wave of darkness rolled over Merlin causing him to groan in disappointment as he slipped into unconsciousness. A few moments later Merlin struggled back awake, only to find Arthur buckling on a tool belt. With a sad smile at Arthur's back, Merlin drifted back into a deep healing sleep without calling out to his love.


	3. Chapter 3

Turning the light down to a dim glow, Arthur left his friend alone. As he stepped into the corridor, the floor began to move under his feet. Behind him he heard the door; looking back he saw that it had only closed about halfway. Shaking his head at the thought of tracking down that one loose connection in the mess that was his partner's idea of wiring, he figured the door was okay like it was. While he rode towards the back ramp, he took a small notebook from his tool belt and began a list of what needed to be fixed. Hopefully most of the damage would be closer to the front of the ship, instead of the rear.

First of all, the walls on either side of him were scorched in several places and the lighting in this part of the sip was sporadic at best. Rounding a corner, he saw that a section of the floor had caved in, just a few feet from the cargo hatch. As the floor grounded to a halt, he stepped off and inched his way around the jagged hole to the other side. Now he just needed to climb up over the last few feet of buckled floor to reach the cargo bay doors.

Once there, Arthur opened the hatch and started working on installing a new security lock to the hanger doors. Twelve hours later, he finally got it in place and turned on. With a sigh of relief he picked up his tools and went inside to see what he could do about the ship's wacky wiring system. Over the next two cycles of Merlin's recovery, Arthur labored to track down each of the ship's floating wire cables and test them for problems. Finally, he was able to close the last access panel and move into the cockpit to turn on the security shield. Moving slowly, and quietly, in behind him, Merlin suppressed a laugh as horns, sirens, and lights erupted into life. Hearing Merlin's muffled laughter as he frantically hit buttons, he muttered dire threats of bodily harm came drifting over his shoulder.

After a moment or two of watching Arthur's wild attempts to shut the system down, Merlin elbowed his friend aside and, with a small snicker, kicked the bottom of the control panel. Almost immediately the system cut off, leaving Arthur shaking his head at the lucky guess. Merlin smiled as he said, "Looks like the wirings back to normal. How's the rest of the ship?"

Arthur shrugged as he did a so-so motion with his left hand.

"Well then, let's go see what needs to be fixed on the weapons and the landing gear." Merlin said as he started out of the cockpit.

Following Merlin through the twisting corridor, Arthur reminded his friend about the Round Table, "Nara legasi liut ahsi. Ses eriche zo, col tel hi'a."

"I'm sure the Round Table can take care of itself for a few more days, Arthur. We're probably going to have major repairs on the landing gear, and we still don't have any idea what we'll find wrong with the lower weapons. Those need to be our first concern. You know that." Merlin looked up into Arthur's blue eyes as he waited for an answer.

As a heated wave of desire worked over him, Arthur quickly looked away. Now was not the time to be starting something, Merlin was right they needed to finish repairing the ship before Vivian attacked. So instead he nodded his head in weary agreement, and moved off towards the weapons. As he lifted the floor panel hiding the weapons, Arthur glanced back towards his partner. Working as a team they should be able to repair most of the stuff in a few cycles, but that would give the Patrol time to get here and discover how disorganized the Round Table really was. He trusted Merlin's judgment but he had the feeling that they should be out there, giving the impression that they were in charge of things.

Outside the air hummed as the first Patrol squadron entered Avalon's atmosphere. They glided down as Aelfric slid through the open door of communications and snatched up a spare headset. He heard this incoming message, "Patrol Central request you confirm A-73 rumor. Over."

He quickly glanced over the head of a nearby radioman and read the open Patrol code book, Code A-73: Round Table member, Merlin in Residence. Momentarily stunned, Aelfric absently nodded his permission to send the confirmation. Receiving it, Central sent out an open band message to all its personnel. "Patrol Central issues all personnel unspecified leave. ANY wishing to view the ongoing preparation for war on Avalon may do so in an unauthorized capacity. Officers are advised to stay within current neutral guidelines. No arrests of suspects permitted. Official leave papers are unnecessary. Over."

Aelfric pulled off his headset in disgust. "Those bastards still don't want to be 'officially' involved in this war. I hope Vivian takes out their command center next, maybe then we'll get a little help around here." He smiled slightly at a stray thought. "At least I won't lose any of the Round Table this way, and they're letting their personnel stop by if they wish. If we only keep getting the Patrol's raw recruits, I may be able to work something out with them." Frowning, he thought it over. "Yeah, that just might work. With Merlin and Arthur holding the Round Table together and a bunch of kids looking for some fast action, we might pull this thing off. At least long enough to give others a chance to clear the planet. Now, if I could just figure out who Merlin really is, I might be able to sleep at night."

Smiling a little, Aelfric took a moment to warn air control to be on the look out for more Patrol personnel flying in. He then made his way over to the Round Table's hanger bays, in the hopes of getting the word on Merlin's ship. After a few minutes of wandering around, he stumbled across Kay.

"How are things shaping up around here?" Aelfric asked as he approached the older man.

Rubbing his dark beard, Kay frowned. "Actually things have been going downhill. The Round Table members who have just arrived are beginning to wonder if Merlin's actually here. We need him to take charge before one of them decides to fire the place. How are things going with that ship of theirs?"

Aelfric stared up at Kay for a brief moment before saying, "Don't you know? My people have been unable to get into their hangar since they got here." Shaking his head in frustration, he continued, "They've updated the ancient locking mechanism to something much more sophisticated. I've been letting it lie because I thought the Round Table was inside helping them repair their ship."

Kay's gray eyes flashed fire as he replied, "No, of course not. Arthur doesn't let anyone, but Merlin, near Sæsteorra. He thinks it would jeopardize their safety somehow. My son and I were of the impression that your crew was at least being informed of their progress, seeing as they would need to ask for equipment."

Aelfric saw red. Merlin and Arthur had been on the compound for almost a moozth now and had yet to set up any kind of command structure for the Round Table. "Look, order Merlin to take charge if that's what you need to do. I want that ragtag group of yours whipped into shape before the rest of the Patrol arrives. Understand?"

Coming out of the shadows of a nearby alley, Kay's son, Kenneth, caught only the tail end of Aelfric words. Moving quickly he grabbed his father just as he lunged for Aelfric's throat. Spinning the old man around and behind him, Kenneth looked Aelfric straight in the eye. Then, very slowly and with just a hint of menace underlying every word, he said, "NO ONE orders Merlin to do anything, unless he has a death wish that is. Arthur takes care of those foolish enough to try." Pausing a moment, he raked a nervous hand through his dirty blond hair before saying, "Look I realize that you're an outsider here, but you're going to find yourself six feet under talking like that around here. I guess that the best thing to do is keep an eye on the Patrol for a few days. I'll help Dad finish the repairs on his weapon system, once that's done Dad will go over and talk to those two. Just be sure you keep the Patrol on the other side of the field until Merlin tells you otherwise or you'll find yourself in the middle of the biggest blood bath you ever saw."

Aelfric nodded his agreement as Kenneth turned and led Kay away.

Over the next seventy-two hours, Kay and Kenneth frantically worked to repair the malfunctioning targeting system. Patrol members had begun arriving in force only six hours after the meeting with Aelfric. They were both relieved to learn that the only ones arriving were recruits. Apparently the officers seemed to have opted to take their unexpected vacation time elsewhere. That left the Round Table with raw recruits, who were more interested in celebrating their new found freedom, rather than the Round Table's nocturnal activities.

Finally, as night fell, Kay found the last hole in his firing circuit and patched it. Dusting off his hands, he watched as his son did a quick test run. Then, deciding it would be best to wait until morning before venturing over to Merlin's hanger, he bid his son good night, stowed his gear, and went to bed.

Dawn found Kay slowly approaching hanger fifty-eight. A few minutes of walking brought him to the massive doors, where he stood for a moment trying to control his faltering nerves. Finally, taking a deep breath, he knocked loudly on the gray doors.

Inside, the high pitched voice of Sæsteorra's computer read out Kay's file into the echoing hanger. "Kay Reilly, 48, gray eyes, short, black beard, dirty, blond hair, 4 foot, eight inches, one son: 22. Nine counts robbery, eight counts assault with a deadly weapon, two counts murder..."

Arthur shut off the alarm as he went by and opened the right side door so Kay could come in. Once Kay had cleared the doorway Arthur slammed it shut and reset the alarm. Then directing Kay toward the forward wheel housing, he said, "Nam Merlin i eys."

Kay breathed a sigh of relief as he slowly made his way around the huge craft. Thanks to a simple gesture, and Merlin's name, he wouldn't have to make heads or tails of Arthur's strange speech; he knew exactly where to go. Ducking under Sæsteorra's belly, Kay wished that he could somehow get inside the legendary craft and explore all her secrets. Sæsteorra's exterior showed no hint of any of her amazing capabilities. In fact, from what Kay could see, she looked more like a mismatched piece of junk than the lightening-fast, weapon-wielding machine he knew her to be.

Running a critical eye over her rusted body, Kay found himself wondering how this battered, worn-out old clunker maintained her Quadlight speed without falling apart. As he paused below what appeared to be a very small weapons' compartment, he realized that one could easily believe that this ship carried nothing more than a small, light training gun. Unless that someone had happened to have witnessed the awesome firing power that this ship was capable of.

It was obviously no use trying to get a rough picture of the inside from what the outside looked like. From what Kay could see three different pieces of old ships had been welded together in a haphazard fashion with other odds and ends. The front of Sæsteorra seemed to be a Knight's Zeath Stomber, or, as most now called them, the family 'Rabbit.' This was welded to what looked like an old Patrol Warship called TX-20.

The TX-20 Warship was small, but could actually hold two forward cannons and one rear sniper gun comfortably. The fact that Sæsteorra had the fire power of at least three forward cannons, and six repeating missiles ringing her topside made Kay remember Geoffrey's words of wisdom to all the newer Round Table members.

"In the world of thievery your eyes can play tricks on you. Never trust anything that you can't touch, repeat, or repair yourself, and even then question its reality."

Merlin, himself, had once let it slip that all his fire power was rigged into the ship's main controls, with infra-red and night vision added as extra insurance. Because of this unique wiring Sæsteorra also had the unusual ability of using her weapons while she accelerated into Quadlight, something even those with short jump speeds were unable to accomplish. In fact it wouldn't surprise Kay in the least to learn that Merlin had rigged his ship so he would have the capability of firing its weapons while in Quadlight.

Moving over to the right wheel, Kay took a quick glance at the rear of the ship. In the shadows of the hanger he could just make out the rough outline of an old Adrian IV lifeboat. A craft that had been out of service since the end of the Avalon-Adrian IV war, some nineteen years ago. How, or when, Merlin had managed to lay his hands on one was a question Kay hoped Geoffrey would be able to answer when he arrived.

Shrugging aside his curiosity, Kay looked inside the left wheel housing and saw a thin, dark haired youth tucked tightly inside fast asleep. Silently laughing to himself, Kay reached out and cautiously shook Merlin's shoulder to wake him up. Instantly Merlin jerked awake, threw his wrench toward the movement with his right hand, and pulled his modified ray gun out from under his dirt encrusted shirt with his left.

As the heavy wrench went flying by, mere inches from his head, Kay quickly hugged the floor while a beam of death passed through the space he had just been occupying. Lying sill for five, or ten minutes, Kay barely dared to breathe as he waited silently for the shot that would end his life. Finally a roaring voice penetrated his fear. "Liut lemal tecca?"

Kay tried frantically to quiet Arthur down with small hand waves. Only Arthur ignored him, striding over to stand next to the wheel housing just as a figure suddenly shot out of it. Arthur's huge muscular arms abruptly materialized in the space between the ship and the concrete floor to catch the wiry form. Smiling, Merlin swung his feet down and stood up.

Giving Arthur a playful punch, he said, "Leave Kay alone, you big brute. I was sleeping when he came over, and you know how crazy my reflexes have been these past few cycles." Shrugging, he turned to Kay. "Sorry about that, old man. I've developed a slightly more cautious nature than I had when we last saw each other. Someone, or rather something got me when we visited our cousin Nick. Arthur here is almost sure one of our guys helped Blutig Maria kidnap me and insists I don't trust anyone but him." He smiled sadly. Then seemingly dismissed his sadness with a casual wave of his hand, as he asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Shocked, and still a little nervous, Kay took his time standing up before answering. "We need you out there. The Round Table is having a serious problem settling down and working as a team. I'd appreciate it if you could at least try to keep them from running wild. The Round Table members are more intent on killing off their competitors, or trashing up the bars, instead of preparing themselves for the upcoming battle. With the Patrol starting to arrive, I could use all the help you can give me. Otherwise I'm afraid the Round Table will lose face."

Merlin rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh as Arthur let him have it with both barrels. "Zot im nisa ramaie nadam acom geh rye. Sido hi'a ge tay, cisey cieg luno."

Merlin craned his neck around and scowled up at his big friend. "I told you that we couldn't take charge of those misfits while the Sæsteorra needed repairs. But now that we're done, we can take care of those idiots without constantly worrying about our own ship." He sighed as he started out of the hanger. "Come on, let's get the Round Table together before the Patrol sends in someone who'll realize just how easy it would be to turn us against one another and get rid of the Round Table forever."

Arthur and Kay followed the slight figure over to the bay doors. They waited patiently while he reset the security system. Kay used the time to take one last look at the legendary Sæsteorra, the outline of the huge ship seemed to simmer in the heat of the hanger, and, for a moment, Kay thought he saw it change. For just a split second in time the ship looked the most advanced piece of machinery in this sector of the galaxy, a Lipricoonian Magicship. A ship once rumored to have been built around pockets of space, and processing the ability to transform itself into anything. A ship believed to have been destroyed when the Libricoons disappeared, over fifty years ago. Then, in a blink of an eye, it turned back into the Sæsteorra he knew. Shaking his head at his overactive imagination, Kay turned to follow Arthur outside.

Little did the three know that they were being observed as they exited the hanger. In the shadows of a nearby street, Aelfric's eye zeroed in on the third figure who stepped out into the alley. This was the youngster he had so many questions about, but had yet to see clearly. His quick inquires to the doctors and nurses had given him a crazy picture of the youth. For a start, not one of their descriptions matched those of the rescue workers, or the description that the Patrol gave out of the fugitive. Looking the kid over for himself gave Aelfric an idea why.

Merlin was a lean, wily looking youngster and seemed to carry a silent strength about him. He had short, midnight black hair that was almost completely hidden from sight by an old black cap. A black leather jacket hung open, allowing a brief glimpse of the loose, black T-shirt that Merlin wore underneath and the red kerchief around his neck. Faded black jeans tapered into a pair of old, worn-out black high tops, and, as Merlin turned sideways, Aelfric whistled softly in shock. For there, running down the length of the kid's left pant leg, was the famous 'White Stripes of KLUR,' two inch-wide strips of white which symbolized the highest award in the galaxy for a person's voluntary risk of life and unusual courage during a time of great danger.

No where in any in any of the stories or reports on this youngster did it mention anything about this amazing fact. The 'White Stripes of KLUR' were rumored to have been given only once, posthumously, over a hundred years ago. The fact that this renegade wore them and no one had even remarked upon it was a little strange in and of itself. That observation combined with the simple fact that the race of Libricoons, whose award it was, had disappeared over fifty years ago brought Aelfric back to the realization that only a very few individuals knew Merlin's true character and background.

Adrift in this maze of thought Aelfric moved off, only vaguely aware of the sound of a ship as it passed overhead. Arthur, however, quickly looked up and tracked the Patrol warship as it circled the landing field. There was something all too familiar about the flight pattern of the ship, which could mean trouble in the cycles ahead.

The circling ship that had Arthur so worried was a battered Patrol Hunter. At her helm sat Lieutenant Commander Bohart le Cure Hardy, head of Galactic Tactical and Strategic Operations, and an old friend of Merlin and Arthur. After gliding his craft in for a landing, Bohart meticulously shut down the engines then popped the canopy of his Hunter.

Heaving his five-foot-two frame out of his ship, Bohart raked his fingers through his short brown hair. Muttering various curses he walked slowly down the row of Warships. Right now his orders were to "observe and suggest," keeping within the Patrol's well known neutral stand. Which worked just fine for a planetary war, but was utterly ludicrous in regard to this war, for Vivian was like evil personified. He had come from somewhere outside Avalon's home galaxy, and craved total power through total control. On the planets where he was in complete control the souls of the inhabitants seemed to have been sucked out, and the husk that was left existed only to feed on the souls of those still free of Vivian.

Running a critical eye over the Warships, Bohart began to have hope. It looked like the recruits had somehow managed to bring the entire Patrol graveyard with them. Only they were equipped with the newest Patrol weapons system on the market. Since his reputation for ignoring orders was one of the reasons that his position in the Patrol was one of a glorified desk job, Bohart was beginning to suspect he had been chosen for this mission for more than the reason given. Someone at Patrol might actually be counting on him to "suggest" that his troops "observe" the war from the center of the action. It certainly seemed like someone had managed to look the other way as these kids had made off with a few hundred relics, along with the newest weapons system. At least it gave him something to think about as he made his way further down the airstrip to the Patrol's temporary barracks.

Upon opening the door, Bohart came upon a veritable trash heap. One more sign that only the rawest recruits had taken Control's suggestion seriously. He shook his head in disgust as he looked around at the mess. He could barely make out the clothes under the trash that was thrown everywhere. In fact, he couldn't seem to find a single clean spot in the entire barracks. He chose to drop his duffel bag just outside before he began to high step his way down the cluttered aisle between the two rows of cots. Finally, after a few minutes of cautious bending and looking, he found one of the kids passed out underneath a soggy cot. He reached down and pulled the youngster out, then half carried and half dragged his burden into the moldy showers at the back of the barracks. As he held the kid under one of the many nozzles Bohart turned the cold water on full blast. Minutes later the youngster moaned and opened bloodshot eyes. Bohart turned the water off and dragged her to a cot near the shower door.

Once he had sat the youngster down on the musty mattress Bohart stripped off his own wet shirt before undressing the young recruit and wrapping the cot's blanket around the kid. It wasn't the cleanest thing, but it would do in a pinch. The last thing he needed was to have this good-looking girl sitting here naked, his control only went so far and it had been a long time.

Rocking back on his feet Bohart said, "This is nuts, their just a bunch of infants. A perfect image to give those arrogant space thieves of the Patrol. One young, elusive know-it-all decides to join Avalon's war and all of a sudden the high echelon at Patrol Central comes to the decision that this needs to be looked into. Stupid bunch of idiots."

He sighed in frustration as he gently shook the recruit's shoulder. After a few minutes of gentle persuasion he got the kid to string enough words together to give him a starting point. So, leaving the kid to finish sleeping it off Bohart walked back down to the door and outside. After changing into a dry shirt and a pair of jeans Bohart headed for Cut Throat Alley. Hopefully, it wouldn't take all night to herd the troopers back to base, he desperately needed some sleep himself before tackling the complex job of getting these boys and girls into shape while still maintaining the illusion that they were only there to "observe" Avalon's war preparations.

Cut Throat Alley ran along the left side of the airbase, according to the recruit that put it right between the Patrol's barracks and the Round Table's hanger bays. All Bohart needed to do was go over three streets to the left and he would be able to see it off to his right. Once there, the Patrol would be in one of two places, one of the bars or at a place called the Flagship Arena. As he walked through the quiet streets, Bohart wondered what the Flagship Arena was as he hadn't quite understood the recruit's slurred explanation and all he has was a vague impression of a place were there were books, meetings, and peaceful contemplation. Bohart figured that it was some new age idea that the Council of Avalon had put in action to try and stem the violence normally associated with planetfall, by giving the recruits something besides bars to frequent. He wasn't sure it would work but didn't seem like that bad of an idea.

Looking around, he found himself at the midpoint of Cut Throat Alley; to either side of him were rundown establishments that seemed to have been converted into four different businesses. One was a combination sex den and bar, called The Sensuous Kitten, and the last was just an old-fashioned bar. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, he went in The Biased Belt. Looking around he found his pale gray eyes meeting the startled gaze of Merlin's blue ones. Before either of them could react, Arthur quickly cut off their line of sight. Around them a quiet hush descended over the bar as Patrol and Round Table members nervously waited for what would happen next.

A huge sigh swept the room when Arthur only growled low in his throat, opening his coat just enough so that Bohart could see a sharp longsword hanging from his belt. Puzzled by the familiarity, but wise enough to recognize a warning, Bohart moved swiftly to gather up his men while trying to place the young Round Table member's face as he moved around the bar. Glancing over his shoulder, Kay saw Arthur hustling Merlin into a corner. Taking the initiative he moved to herd the Round Table members out the back door, thus giving Arthur the privacy he was looking for. Once in the corner, Arthur looked for Kay. Catching the man's eye he gave him a subtle nod of thanks, but still kept his voice to a whisper, "Aser eys fimcaser asodi?"

Merlin chewed his bottom lip in thought for a moment. There was a slim chance that Bohart would remember him from before and perhaps guess at who he actually was. Finally, he just shrugged, "E'tec asai. Gacoy faheu im. Lerun Bohart asai, yis rama."

Arthur snarled at his friend,"Tai sido gacoy. Niob lei o'sod im?"

Merlin nodded his agreement; a guard on Bohart would be a good idea. Just because he had saved Bohart during that last battle and brought him here didn't mean Bohart would actually thank him by keeping his secret. "Lugi neram tid eys. Sanu re tecca ing aser min."

At this remark of Merlin's Arthur scowled dangerously, he knew exactly what his friend wanted him to do. Merlin just leaned back into the corner and looked up at him, trying very hard not to smile. Only his eyes twinkled merrily and his lips tended to crinkle upward at the sides giving him away. After about ten minutes of silence Arthur finally looked away from his friend and towards the door, where Kay stood waiting for them.

"This is not a good idea," he muttered before heading for the doorway.

Merlin couldn't help himself any longer he burst out laughing as he followed his friend and Kay outside. Arthur looked back at him as they walked down the street towards their hanger.

"I fail to see the humor in this situation."

Merlin laughed even harder as Arthur's statement caused Kay to stop short in surprise and Arthur practically walked right over him. Growling a warning, Arthur stepped back a few inches so Kay could see the hint of murder that simmered in his eyes. Kay, in absolute terror, took off at a run. Merlin quickly sobered up and reaching out he gently touched Arthur's arm as he tried to calm his partner down.

"He didn't know, Arthur. You haven't spoken any language but our made up one to anyone but me in a long time. Not once in the five years we have been here anyway. You need to remember that pal. No one is going to know that you can." He smiled a little, "Actually, that's what is causing me to laugh the picture I have of their reactions when they find out."

Arthur reluctantly relaxed and turned to face Merlin. Opening his mouth to speak he was struck mute as their eyes met. Suddenly the outside world ceased to exist as they were both caught up in a silken web desire. As Arthur reached out to gently cup Merlin's chin, Merlin felt his heart beat a little faster. Always before, when they had found themselves caught in this spell in a place that they might be caught, Arthur had managed to break it and walk away. In this universe the love they had for one another was a death sentence so they really tried to avoid public displays of affection and this time would be no different, but he knew that Arthur could see the flame of desire that burned in his eyes. When Arthur urged him a little closer and began to lower his lips, Merlin almost stopped breathing altogether.

Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the silence, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Too many eyes."

Arthur jerked away from Merlin as if burned and angrily strode off into the night. Merlin sighed in frustration, "Thanks a lot Bohart. A moment longer and we might of been to far gone to actually care about the consequences of getting caught and being turned in for suspicion of sodomy." Facing his old friend, he frowned, "By the way, when did you figure out it was me?"

Bohart smiled as he eyed Merlin's youthful appearance, "You're kidding right? Dude you look exactly the same as that time I first saw you over Camelot's Round Table. There is something really strange about you warlock and I think you know how I ended up in this weird future world instead of dead on the field. Care to fill me in?"

"Well, I can't tell you a lot of it because here the truth is part of a prophecy more complex then Arthur's destiny tale. However, you are right I did get you off that battle field. You were one of the few I arrived in time to save but hey, you seem to be doing well for yourself even if you are out of your own time."

"Well, you were always slightly insane." Bohart shook his head in amazement, "Trust me that first week I thought I had gone insane and the following year was a matter of taking it minute by minute or else I probably would have literally gone crazy. Fortunately the same qualities that made me a knight worthy of a seat at Camelot's Round Table also helped me find a place within the Patrol. Who, by the way, are here to 'observe' your little uprising."

Merlin chuckled a little at that, "Yeah, I heard a few of our boys mention that stupid broadcast. One would think General Freitag would have a little more sense but at least he made sure my boys were to be left alone and it seems we won't need to put a guard on you after all."

"No, it would be a waste of manpower. You have my word that I won't give you away. At least as long as you still have **him **at your beck and call."

Laughing again, Merlin dropped an arm around Bohart's neck. Hugging him close he said, "It's good to see you again. It has been too long since we've had someone who can understand and help us find the bright side of our problem. Hell, you're the only one in this place and time who knows how Arthur and I feel about each other."

Bohart grimanced at his friend as they parted. Being outside the norm when it came to sexual relationships even in their own time had been risky but in this place Arthur and Merlin were really tempting a very horrible fate. He had always supported them, even if he didn't understand the attraction, and this time would be no different. "Anytime you need me, just put the word out. Okay?"

Merlin smiled in thanks as he released Bohart, "Will do." At that moment Merlin's appearance shimmered and for a second Bohart could swear he saw an image of a black dragon painted with cosmic stars in his place. "Damn, Bohart tell me you didn't see that."

"Wish I could unsee it. What the hell is that?"

Merlin grimaced, "Who I really am factors in a prophecy here, which is why I space out the times I visit. Only the final moments are in play so I have to be here but as the time grows closer I have less control over my magic."

"OH MY GOD, I'M GONNA DIE! Does Arthur know? If I remember right he's suppose to be your source of grounding and stability in all this."

Merlin gave him a startled look "First off I've got you covered dude, you're not gonna die on my watch. Second, no way does Arthur find out about this. Gods that would be the worst thing you could do and you know it. I'm frustrated enough as it is thank you very much and you and I both know that he would want me under his watchful eye thirty-six hours a day. I would go mad."

Bohart had to agree with Merlin's last word. Even though he hated the idea of keeping Arthur in the dark he would do his best to be on the lookout for any danger signs in regards to Merlin's crazy power. Unfortunately he now had the vivid memories of when Merlin had first appeared and used it in this universe five years ago back. Bohart decided then and there to keep that fact to himself as he was sure the information would drive Arthur insane because no one was suppose to know what lurked behind Merlin's innocent looks. His guess would be that Merlin's magic was suppose to implant false memories of any events that would point to who Merlin really was but because it apparently wanted Bohart to know the danger it had re-gifted him with these memories of the past. Whatever Merlin really was he controlled a magic so powerful it had slowed the destruction of a planet so that Merlin could save everyone, this was not something to be played with.

Remembering exactly how he had been there as the planet Keros 12 was swiftly falling towards its own sun, with millions of civilians still trapped on its surface, made Bohart shudder with fear even now. Merlin's small private ship had suddenly appeared and pulled in beside the huge Patrol rescue ship. While he had immediately headed for the surface and begun to help with the evacuation Keros 12 had stopped its descent, seeming to hang in space as if time had been suspended indefinitely just for it. It hadn't been until only a handful of people remained to be evacuated had the planet started moving again. Nerves of steel that he hadn't known he possessed had allowed him to stay those precious seconds needed to receive that last transfer from the surface. As he streaked away Keros 12 exploded in a bright flash of light and he had been sure Merlin had perished in the flames.

It had been months later, at a Patrol ceremony honoring the youngster's courage, before he had seen him again. While the Patrol's highest award for bravery, The Crimson Tattoo of Heart, was put on his right shoulder he had looked right at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He might wind up regretting giving his word to Merlin in regards to Arthur but he would never betray his confidence. Letting the old memories drift away he realized that they had arrived at his berth, so giving him a wave goodbye he walked off into the darkness alone.

As the sun rose slowly in the northeast it found dozens of Round Table members already up and about their business. Inside berth fifty-eight, Arthur was doing a last minute check of their repairs when he stopped just outside of their room to tighten a loose bolt and heard Merlin's dark mutterings.

"...going to blow this whole thing wide open. Geez, like I need that on top of assassins in the night, questions without end, and this blasted game my magic has decided to play with my form."

The door to their cabin crashed open a moment later to reveal a very furious Knight, "And exactly when were you going to let me know about your little problem?"

Merlin groaned from where he lay on their bed, "I didn't say a word. Please tell me I didn't say what you are implying I said."

Arthur only growled and advanced into the room to stand, towering over Merlin's prone form. Wincing, Merlin quickly hooked his hands behind his head. "Calm down, Arthur. I wasn't going to tell you anything. At least, not until I had more to go on. I knew you would react like this. All it is, right now anyway, is brief moments of time when my Cosmic Dragon form is revealed." Chewing his lip a moment, he sighed "It's somehow connected to this uprising against Vivian, it's never been this insistent before. I've just got a sense that something's going to blow this whole prophecy into high gear soon and we'll be left without a choice. That's all Arthur, nothing more, nothing less."

Arthur seemed to slowly count to ten before saying, "If I thought it would do some good, I'd put you under thirty-six hour watch. You seem to forget that I have a stake in this too and we're still not quite sure what that is as the prophecy is nice and vague on the whole 'Promised Warrior' who will accompany their Universe Dragon." Arthur shuddered at the thought of what might be headed their way, his imagination darker than he hoped the reality would turn out to be. Right now he needed some time to put in a few safe guards, not that he expected them to last very long against his friend's unleashed power.

"If it is somehow connected to Vivian and this little uprising then we probably don't have that much time. I'll need to put more power into the ship's outer shields and add a double shield to the security system on the hanger. That means you're going to have to handle the guys on your own over the next few days. I'll help you out today but that's all the time I can spare. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Hold on a minute Arthur. Are you sure all that is really necessary?"

"Yes, believe it or not, it is. Now, can you handle the Round Table or not?"

Merlin smiled uneasily, "Sure Arthur, as long as you can spare a moment to help me set the ground rules. Is that all?"

Arthur smiled as he held out his hand to help his lover up. Slowly, and warily, Merlin reached up and grabbed a hold of Arthur's hand. Arthur immediately jerked him up, grabbed a fistful of shirt with his other hand, and growled out, "No, that's not all. You had **better **keep me informed as to what's going on with that magic of yours from now on. Cause if you **ever** try to pull a stunt like this again I will personally knock your block off. This is serious business, not something to be playing with. **UNDERSTAND**?"

Merlin swallowed nervously, Arthur had never threatened him before and he wasn't exactly sure to cope with it. "Uh, sure thing Arthur, whatever you say."

Ty slowly relaxed his tight grip on Merlin's shirt, only to bring Merlin in close for a quick hug. "I'm sorry if I scared you love, maybe now you realize how much you scared me with this little stunt. At least now I have some time to set in place what few protections I can." Arthur caressed the back of Merlin's head as he said, "Don't worry I'll take care of you. Haven't I always?"

Merlin nodded into Arthur's chest, smiling slightly as he quickly reached up and kissed him on the cheek, then hurried toward the broken door. Going through the door he looked back to see Arthur still standing where he had left him. Puzzled Merlin said, "Come on, let's go see if we can start getting the Round Table whipped into shape."

Arthur shook his head, wondering why such an innocent kiss had the power to penetrate through all his carefully constructed barriers and make him question his control. For those few moments, when Merlin's lips had briefly grazed his cheek, Arthur had seriously considered saying the hell with their enforced celibacy and finally having sex with his soulmate even if it did mean getting his head cut off. At least he wouldn't be as frustrated as he had been for the last five years.

That thought brought Arthur up short. Maybe that was exactly the type of reaction that Merlin had been angling for. Space knew that it was the only time that Merlin hadn't tried to catch him off guard with a deep, passionate kiss. Could be that his lover had decided to change his tactics. Furrowing his brow, Arthur cast a quick questioning look towards his soulmate. Well, it wasn't going to work until they had left this universe. Taking a deep breath, he got as firm a grip on his teetering control as he could and said, "Right love, let's go remind those rogues whose boss around here."

As Arthur came up beside him, Merlin snaked an arm around his waist. Studying his love he could tell that Arthur was finally becoming dangerously frustrated with this universe's stupid rules against homosexuals. Sighing he vowed to himself that he would find a way they could leave for a quick round of lovemaking after he had made his presence felt amongst the Round Table members that were here. There had to be a way to nip off without upsetting the delicate balance of the prophecy.


	4. Chapter 4

As Arthur and Merlin was leaving their ship Aelfric sat alone in his private office. Trying to get the Patrol and the Round Table to work together without killing each other was giving him a headache. Hopefully Bohart, Merlin, and Arthur would soon step up and help him or there was no chance in hell they would be able to hold Vivian off. Sighing he glanced out the window to see a black, ever widening shadow slowly occupying the section of space where Adrian IV sat. Even as he watched thick snake like tentacles wrapped themselves tightly around the distant planet. Apparently their time had run out for as soon as Vivian finished corrupting the souls of their sister world she would come for them.

Quickly leaving his office Aelfric began to make his way to the radio tower so that they could broadcast the order for evacuation of woman and children. Suddenly he was violently thrown off his feet by a tremendous earthquake that rumbled across the surface of the planet. He felt Avalon shudder as the planet seemed to stop rotating just as its gravity and atmosphere vanished. Then, a few heart pounding seconds later, everything returned to normal with an ear shattering **BANG**! Lying confused on the rubble strewn ground Aelfric gulped in huge lung-fulls of air. Above him clouds began to slowly move across the sky once more, only in the wrong direction. Puzzled he squinted towards the sun to find it creeping back down into the southern mountains. In the north he could just make out the moon as it slowly reappeared. His only coherent thought was "What the hell?"

The answer to his question lay tossing and turning onboard Sæsteorra. Merlin's silent struggle was quite literally tossing the ship around as he desperately tried to rein in the awesome power of his magic. Just as Aelfric had exited the building that housed his office the five personal shields surrounding Merlin and Sæsteorra along with the two special security shields that Arthur had installed around the hanger had collapsed. As they had broken his magic had surged out across the planet causing Avalon to buckle and tremble beneath their destructive force. Clenching his teeth against the pain Merlin fought to get his magic back under control, frantically discarding one approach after another as he searched for a way to weave even more magical power into Arthur's and his soul bond. Hopefully he would stumbled upon an answer before Arthur noticed what he was doing and stormed the ship demanding to know what was up.

Arthur, meanwhile, was sitting dazed atop a bar stool in the Murderous Barkeep. He had felt the wave of Merlin's all too familiar magic coming just before it had swept over the Barkeep. Only his instinctive grab for the railing around the bar had kept him grounded during those first few seconds of anti-gravity. He certainly didn't need an explanation for the phenomenon, he knew it meant the shields over his lover had fallen. He closed his eyes in a swift prayer that Merlin would find a quick solution to leashing the lethal force of his magic before it decided to turn its killing gaze on the people of Avalon. It was during this brief moment that he felt Merlin trying to weave some of his magic into Arthur's essence. For a brief second he touched Merlin's soul and felt Merlin draw strength from the brief merging. In that moment Arthur thought he could see how their centuries old bond could destroy Vivian. Only it seemed that in order to pull it off ARthur would first need to reclaim Merlin in the most intimate way possible.

Arthur licked his lips in anticipation as he quickly left the bar and headed back towards the hanger. As he walked he struggled against the emotions that he had kept locked down for the last five years which were now intensifying with every step closer to Merlin. This was complicated by the continued waves of destruction that swept over the planet as Merlin's magic rolled across the land again and again. An hour later and a block from the hanger where Merlin lay the sky suddenly brightened as the Pendragon Dragon etched itself in the night stars. Arthur starred in shock for a moment before taking off running as best he could over the debris strewn ground, never noticing Aelfric and Bohart turning the other corner and falling in behind him.

Merlin stirred as Arthur burst into his room unaware of how the air shimmered around his body or that his human form had fallen away while he had struggled to regain full control over his magic. Arthur swore loudly upon seeing his love's Cosmic Dragon form. When Bohart swore softly behind him Arthur quickly moved to jerk a light sheet over Merlin's form causing him to open sleep dazed, burning gold eyes in his direction. Caught in their depths he began to lean down to kiss Merlin just as Aelfric shouldered his way past Bohart. Bohart managed to grab him just short of the bed but failed to prevent him from uttering a ver loud, "What the hell?!"

Merlin turned his gaze towards the sound and Aelfric found himself memorized as his soul was dissected by an unknown force. Arthur quickly broke the connection by lightly placing his hand over Merlin's eyes and quietly soothing him in their fake language until, with a small smile and a whispered sigh, Merlin drifted off to sleep. Once sure that his lover was not going to awaken again Arthur straightened and glared at Bohart and Aelfric. That was all they needed to quickly, but quietly, make their way out of the ship and into the alley in front of the hanger bay doors. Arthur followed them pausing only to shut down the malfunctioning security systems. As soon as Arthur had the hanger doors locked behind him Bohart and Aelfric bombarded him with questions.

"What IS Merlin, really?" demanded Bohart.

"Who is he?" shouted Aelfric. "Wait. Bohart what do you mean?"

"He's not human, he looked like some sort of..." Arthur clamped a hand over Bohart's mouth.

Aelfric looked from one to the other, "Obviously there is more to this story then you want to tell us. Did he cause this destruction? Can you at least tell me that?"

Arthur gave Bohart a warning glare before removing his hand, "Yes, he lost control of a bit of power he has. Sorry I can't tell you any more but Merlin and I are already treading a fine line by acting as early and as directly as we are right now. Aelfric, why don't you go see about assessing the damage to your planet while I have a quick word with Bohart here."

Aelfric scowled at Arthur before nodding, they did need to assess and fix anything to do with the airfield before Vivian advanced. "I'll go for now, but Arthur I'll want some answers later."

Aelfric left to start prioritizing repairs and to double check that evacuations had started despite everything. Bohart waited for a few minutes after Aelfric had disappeared around the corner before asking Arthur, "Why didn't you want me to say Merlin looked like some kind of dragon in front of dragon in front of Aelfric?"

"Has anyone told you the Promised Warrior prophecy yet?"

Bohart thought for a moment before saying, "Bits and pieces of it I think. Something about from the ashes of long ago a mighty king of death shall arise astride a cosmic serpent to slay the witch with sword and magic."

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes against the headache that was forming. "Okay apparently it has gotten a lot less vague in the last three centuries. Though it is interesting to hear that Merlin might actually let me in on the kill this time."

"Three centuries? This time?"

"We've, or should I say he's killed two previous witches using one of his favorite movies as inspiration. And yes, it has been at least three centuries since we were last here." Arthur smiled, "Just don't ask me to explain it please. That part is all Merlin and I'm just along for the ride."

"O..k..ay," stammered Bohart. "You know, I'm sorry I asked so before you tell me more of what I'm sure I don't want to know I'm going to leave. If you need me for anything not related to this insanity I'll be helping the Patrol recover."

With those words Bohart clapped Arthur on the shoulder and then headed for the Patrol hangers. Arthur shook his head a little as he tugged worriedly at the bay doors, it wasn't as if Merlin and him had asked to be who they were but he did have to agree with Bohart about one thing. Crazy seemed to follow them through the eternity that was their life. Right now he didn't really feel right about leaving Merlin alone with the poor security that was left around their ship but at the moment he probably shouldn't take the time to fix it. After all Merlin had gained even more power to fuel his magic so more then likely they didn't even need the protection that they did have. So, with a resigned sigh, he headed towards the rest of the Round Table's hangers to see what damage had been done there and to check if any of the outlaws had sustained any injuries.

Other than Bohart, Arthur, and Aelfric the outlaws, Patrol, and civilians were unaware that they had been granted some much needed breathing space as they raced frantically to finish repairs over the next week. When the women and children returned with wild tales of a rip in space they couldn't cross they began to wonder what it all meant as even now the planet hadn't yet resumed its normal rotation. Working on Geoffrey's oversized Dodo with him Arthur heard footsteps approaching from the open bay doors. Closing his eyes he hoped, he prayed, he all but stopped breathing only they paused at his protruding feet so he knew it was a lost cause. Giving a frustrated groan low in his throat he wished Merlin would hurry up with his recovery, mediating between the Patrol and the Round Table was getting on his last nerves without Merlin there to tease him out of his frustration. Geoffrey gave Arthur a sympathetic glance as Arthur slid out from underneath the old cargo freighter.

Aelfric quickly backed up as he saw Arthur coming, unsure of the Knight's intent and one look at Arthur's expression had him speaking before he thought. "Merlin seems to be in a coma and the hanger, along with your ship, is gone."

Arthur closed his eye's as he reached out for Merlin through their bond. Only to find that their bond was stretched extremely thin as Merlin had apparently gone dream walking light years away. Arthur felt himself slowly sliding towards the edge, Death wanting to come out to play, but he held himself back with the knowledge that Merlin was still alive and his. He just needed to call his lover back home.

"Geoffrey!" he yelled.

Geoffrey quickly slid out from under his ship, surprised at the vehemence Arthur had put into his name. As soon as he was standing Arthur growled, "Merlin's off dream walking, warn everyone." Then he took off running.

Aelfric looked at Geoffrey's pale, white face and asked, "Why do you need to warn everyone that Merlin's off dream walking?"

In a low, strained voice Geoffrey said, "Apparently their bond is stretched thin enough that if Arthur can't call him back soon we're going to have a problem worse than Vivian." Looking Aelfric in the eyes he asked, "How bad is it? Is there any chance he's just sleeping really deeply and perhaps unconsciously used his magic to move everything someplace else?"

Aelfric slowly shook his head as he replied, "I don't know about the dream walking but judging from Arthur's reaction I think it's more likely than he's just in a deep sleep. As for the hanger and his ship I'm sorry to say their totally missing, in fact there's not even a hint that they ever even existed. How bad is it likely to get?"

Geoffrey swallowed nervously, "Well, Merlin is that guy's whole focus and his soulmate. Also it has been about five years since the two of them have been able to have a bit of a shag without worrying about getting their heads cut off. When you factor those two things together it means we'll probably be lucky if we only experience him mutilating, ravaging, and killing anything or anyone who gets in his way. If we're not so lucky we'll have the Grim Reaper on our hands."

As he thought a moment he vaguely heard Aelfric murmur, "A shag?!" in a slightly horrified way.

However he ignored it to suggest, "I think you should head back to command central and pull your forces into the deepest, darkest pit you can find and be sure to warn whoever you see on your way to do the same. You may also want to seriously think about doing away with that stupid execution law regarding homosexuals. Meanwhile I'll get the Round Table to spread it down here and find some way to warn Bohart so the Patrol can also brace themselves for the worst. We should hurry too because if he can't call Merlin back I don't know how long he'll be able to keep in mind that he has friends here that he would rather not hurt."

Sprinting in opposite directions Aelfric and Geoffrey rushed off to spread the warning. Arthur knelt on the spot where hanger fifty-eight had once been, cradling Merlin in his arms as he frantically tried to make their bond work so he could get some insight into how to call him back.

"Merlin..." he growled into Merlin's ear as minutes passed and he ground himself drifting closer to the edge.

For a second their bond shivered as someone, or something, hug Merlin and Arthur clutched his fists tight as he screamed "NO!"

Arthur's form flickered between human and reaper but just before his last shred of self-control broke he felt Merlin coming ever closer with each passing second, whispering words of reassurance and promise across their bond. Finally, between one breath and the next, Merlin's eyes opened and his arms locked tight around Arthur as he curled into Arthur's chest. Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin for one, quick rib-cracking hug before swooping in for a passionate kiss. Within seconds desire stirred and wrapped around them as Merlin's hands slid under Arthur's shirt and Arthur's lips moved to nibble at Merlin's neck. Merlin groaned, swimming in the vortex of feelings that Arthur invoked as with a flash of gold he did away with their clothes. Of course it was at that exact moment that Bohart's discreet cough reminded them of where they were. Arthur held Merlin tightly as they both struggled to regain their composure. As Arthur glared at him over Merlin's head Bohart smiled, not the least bit worried for he knew that the storm had passed.

"Could this possibly mean I don't need to find a hole to hide in for days on end?"

Arthur started to growl low in his throat but at the sound of Merlin's soft laugh he smiled and shook his head. Bohart grimaced, "Gods I had forgotten how sickeningly sweet you two could be."

Arthur wrinkled his nose at Bohart, "You are pushing it. Now, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

Bohart reddened a little as he looked away, "Um, uh, look can't we just get you two dressed and go reassure everyone?"

Arthur looked at Bohart questioningly, this wasn't like him at all. Merlin on the other hand smiled shyly at Bohart over his shoulder.

"So you thought your presence might give Arthur something to anchor on." Sadly he shook his head as Arthur looked down at him than over to Bohart in shock. "It would've only lasted a few seconds, if that, Bohart. You're a trusted, old friend but the bond that Arthur and I have is something that could never be duplicated or replaced. Arthur would've reaped you painfully quick. You had to have known the risk Bohart. Why did you chance it?"

Bohart uttered a sick little laugh, "Why? You dare ask me why? Merlin there are thousands of people here, most of them children. They needed those precious seconds and I was the only one who could, or would, give them the time to prepare. Certainly none of your current crop of Round Table misfits would. Outlaws, really Merlin? Anyway, I was there the first time to Arthur became the Grim Reaper so I remember the carnage that his killing fury leaves behind. Hell, I'ld grab at any slim hope to prevent that from happening here."

Arthur, who had been watching Bohart's eyes as he talked, nodded once. "I see you still have some of the values I taught you but Bohart you need to remember that there were a few so called outlaws at that first table too. If you had asked any within our circle they would of come so don't try to tell me they turned you down even if your instincts were right in this case, you were the only one who stood a chance of giving them those few precious seconds."

With that speech Arthur held his hand out to Bohart. Bohart smiled as he took it, it was nice to be back fighting with Arthur and Merlin. Between the two of them Merlin's form shone golden and for a moment he allowed the three of them to cherish the warmth of their small circle before taking them into his mind to show them what he had done to give them time. About halfway between avalon and her sister planet a mist of evil sat contemplating a chasm of time that seperated it from its intended victim. Merlin had wrapped his time warp trench around Avalon so that Vivian would have to find a way across if she wanted to invade Avalon. They had a few days to put a plan together before she figured out how to unravel Merlin's spell.

"I've also set traps that trigger if she tries to go around, so basically she's stopped in the area of space she's already conquered until she unravels my net."

"Is that why you decided to go dream walking without telling me? To set a few traps?"

"No, I don't need to dream walk for that. However, I did finally get feedback on one of my threads I sent out after Kilgharragh's essence. So I took a moment to go see where he had got off to and how he was getting along."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Oh goody, I'm so glad to hear that. In fact I'm so happy I'm going to ignore the fact that he hugged you. Moving on to more important things, I only glimpsed a small part of how our bond can destroy Vivian. Tell me you took a few moments to glimpse the rest of the plan before you went traipsing off."

"It would take the cooperation of everyone but there is a flaw at the heart of Vivian's magic that we could use to destroy her."

"Magic?" asked Bohart. "Is that how she wins so effortlessly? I've always wondered why most of her victims give in without a fight."

Merlin grimaced as he finally reclothed Arthur and himself, "It's a spell that calls to the evil that lurks in all of us. Those that do fight back are usually those who are awake when Vivian arrives and they suffer all the more for it. The spell awakens and strengthens the darkness that lurks in the dark corners of humans' souls and helps it take over their thoughts and actions. Once Arthur has reclaimed me I will be able to use our bond more fully to help magnify the sense of right she fears to fold and defeat her spell."

"Um, in case it has escaped you Arthur can't really 'reclaim' you without the possibility of you both getting your heads cut off."

Merlin stood up, pulling Arthur up behind him. "Yeah, we need to go talk to Aelfric about that."

Bohart nodded, "I would say so. Meanwhile I'll begin pulling everyone out of their holes and getting them back to the business of preparing for war. It will keep them occupied and hopeful even if it is all in vain."

"Hope is good in this case Bohart. Let's go Arthur."

Leaving Bohart to his mission Merlin led Arthur to Avalon's throne room. Arthur looked around the dusty, deserted room, "You sure he's here?"

"His signature leads here, so yes I'm sure you prat."

Arthur cuffed the back of Merlin's head even as laughter echoed around the room.

"You two are priceless. Who are you looking for?"

"You."

"Why?"

"The execution order on homosexuals. Can you rescind it fast?"

"I've already written the proclamation only taking on Vivian takes precedence. What's the hurry?"

Merlin bit his lip trying to decide if he could trust Aelfric or not. Arthur, on the other hand, just blurted out "Look I need to fuck Merlin and we seriously don't want to lose our heads because we love each other before we can kill Vivian."

Merlin blushed as he elbowed Arthur, "Arthur!"

Aelfric was just plain shocked. He really didn't need this complication right now on top of everything else. Avalon wasn't the only planet to outlaw same sex relationships, thou their punishment was the severest. Even thou Geoffrey had implied Aelfric needed to change the law because of Arthur, having it shoved in his face was another thing all together. Looking from one to the other he asked, "What has one to do with the other?"

"Well, I'm sure that you are fully aware of the prophecy."

"Yeah, sure."

"Arthur here is the King it foretells and when he reclaims me forces will be unleashed that will put an end to Vivian."

"Seriously? Come on Merlin he doesn't look like any King of Death nor do I see a Cosmic Serpent any where."

"ÍEWAN."

Arthur's and Merlin's human forms faded away at the flash of gold in Merlin's eyes. Arthur was revealed as what looked like either a wright-like creature or specter, dressed in a robe of ebony black and wearing a golden crown. Merlin's form however flickered and shimmered. For the most part he looked like a huge midnight black dragon but suns, stars, and galaxies flowed seamlessly across his form. Sometimes they even seemed to dance off Merlin's skin and around the room.

Aelfric nervously licked his lips, "Well, that certainly explains a lot. Um, could you change back now?"

"Sure." And with a flash of gold Merlin and Arthur were back in their human forms.

"So I make the proclamation, you two do whatever, and then what?"

"In two days we'll need everyone to gather on the main landing strip. Do you think Bohart, Geoffrey, and you can handle that?"

"Oh yeah, seeing as we're doing so well without you two so far that should be a breeze."

Merlin winced, "I get your point, really I do but it has been one crazy crisis after another since we've arrived. Despite it all we now have a way to strike back so cut us a little slack here."

"And all it takes is a major law repeal," Aelfric held his hand up to stop the protest he could see forming in Merlin's and Arthur's eyes. "No, I understand and it was something I was going to push for anyway. Now go do whatever you need to do and I'll take care of the legalizes of it."

With those words Aelfric nodded to them and left. Merlin looked at Arthur, a huge smile on his face, only to find a hungry, predatory look in Arthur's eyes. Merlin licked his lips, desire always shimmered between them but he hadn't thought the last five years of abstinence had had the same effect on Arthur as it had on him. Apparently he had been wrong as it seemed that Arthur was even more frustrated than he was. Making a split second decision Merlin said, "BEDCÓFA" as he grabbed Arthur around the waist.

*****************SEX IN NEXT CHAPTER - SKIP IT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!******************


	5. SEX-YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

When they appeared in their bedroom on Sæsteorra they were naked as Arthur tumbled them into their bed. Their groans echoed in the room as flesh met flesh. Hips stuttered as hard cock slid deliciously against hard cock. Faintly through the haze of desire and the hull of the ship they heard Aelfric's announcement. Arthur tweaked Merlin's nipples with his left hand even as he teased Merlin's opening with his right.

"Finally," he growled into Merlin's ear.

"Less talking, more doing," Merlin whimpered.

Arthur nipped Merlin's lip, "Patience love, patience."

Merlin groaned as he felt passion, desire, and magic burn through his blood. He had been tempting and teasing Arthur for a long time now. Finally having exactly what he wanted within his reach he was not going to be patience. Magic pulsed as he bucked and rolled them over so he was on top. Sitting up he licked his lips as gazed down at Arthur. Arthur gripped Merlin's hips and lifted him up just enough so that Merlin guide Arthur to his entrance.

"It's going to hurt."

"Magic," Merlin whimpered even as he lowered himself down onto Arthur's cock.

As Arthur filled him lightening sparked around their bodies. For a moment Merlin held still, not only adjusting to the feel of Arthur inside him once more but to the intense connection between the magic harbored in his body and that which Merlin had syphoned off into Arthur. Once again the magic that flowed through the fabric of the universe and time was his to command. As he began to move magic sparkled.

"Merlin."

"I know, trying."

Merlin knew he had to embrace and ride the tsunami that was his new influx of power. Without the druids to bind and protect the area around them any leakage of his magic would be catastrophic. Merlin used his magic to shift them again, now Arthur was above and around him giving him a much needed feeling of enclosure to build on.

Arthur rested his forehead on Merlin's, "You're killing me here, Merlin."

Merlin licked his lips as he made a split second decision, "To hell with it, just move."

Arthur groaned as he thrust deep and fast into Merlin. Merlin clawed at Arthur's back, marking him as he gave himself over to the sensations that ran through his body each time Arthur hit that spot deep inside. As he raced towards orgasim his magic raced around the planet.


	6. The Story Ends

Merlin wasn't sure what it was up to but he knew that he was just moments from away from being flung into the river of time and the flux of the universe. He barely remembered to anchor his soul to Arthur's before he came and his essence was thrown into the chaos of time, space, and life. Now he could sense the many alternate universes, some of which they had been to, and the threads of fate that connected them all. Tumbling through the currents of power he barely felt the tug from his soul as Arthur tried to bring him back home. Mere seconds later he slammed back into his body as a sharp pain lanced through the scattered points of his essence. Blinking as he adjusted to being confined to human form again he looked around for Arthur.

"Oh my god, Arthur!" Frantically he moved to apply pressure to the huge knife gash that ran from Arthur's inside elbow to his wrist. Arthur lay on his back in a bright red pool of blood as Merlin gathered his magic, "GELÁCNIAN."

Merlin's eyes and Arthur's arm glowed neon gold as muscle and flesh quickly knitted back together. "DRÉOR."

Arthur's skin began to look more alive as blood was replaced and he stirred. Tears of joy dropped from Merlin's eyes as he gathered Arthur close in a bone crushing, relief filled hug. Arthur's weary voice drifted over him, "Finally back are we?"

"Yes you idiot. Never do that again."

Weakly chuckling Arthur kissed the top of Merlin's head, "Hopefully there will never be a time that I will have to but I'm not promising anything. If it's the only way to bring you back to me then I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Merlin sighed, "Okay, I may hate it but I would do the same for you. Anyway, sleep now tomorrow we have a witch to kill."

"Tomorrow? That's not what you implied to Aelfric."

Merlin grimaced as he lightly bit Arthur's chest, "That was before. I'm not exactly sure what my magic has been up to but the planet is safe and we're ready so tomorrow it is."

"You're going to let me help this time?"

"Couldn't do it without you taking a sword to the back of her knees. Now go to sleep."

Arthur starred at the top of Merlin's head for a moment, there was just something about Merlin's plan that not only seemed off but also familiar. Shaking his head he let it go and drifted off into a deep sleep. Both of them slept until almost noon the next day and as they came awake they couldn't help but slowly enjoy each other one more time. Sweaty and satisfied they took a quick shower before they dressed and Merlin flashed them to the main runway.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Merlin said as he dispersed his time trench. Darkness immediately filled the sky as with an insane laugh Vivian appeared. Excalibur appeared in Arthur's hand even as Merlin yelled, "Westernesse!" causing it to glow fiery red.

Arthur quickly maneuvered around to behind Vivian and sliced across the back of her knees. In silence Vivian's form fell to the ground as black smoke boiled out to mingle with the darkness that surrounded the planet.

Merlin smiled, "Now you're mine bitch." He roared with the fire of new sums and blazed with the light of super novas as he explored into his Cosmic Dragon form.

As Vivian now occupied space she was a part of him and within his control. Mercilessly he devoured her magic, extinguishing her hold on those she had already conquered. As more and more of her power was lost to the hurricane of Merlin's magic that assaulted her the darkness that surrounded Avalon dissipated. Finally, with a small pop it was over and Merlin settled back into his human form.

Arthur was leaning on his sword as he waited, "Merlin."

"Yes."

"That wasn't from the old religion magic."

"No, it was something from where Kilgharrah now dwells."

"I see. Funny, it seemed a tiny bit familiar to me not something from an alternate universe."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you don't but I think I need to either reread The Return of the King or watch the movie again. I have a funny feeling this has something to do with that crazy witch king's death, considering the sword and all."

Merlin ran a hand through his hair, "Well, I can see how you might he confused but I technically finished Vivian off by dragon fire not a sword to her crown or whatever Éowyn did."

"Wasn't talking about that or Tolkien's misdirect and you know it Merlin."

"Whatever you say Merry," Merlin laughed as he wrapped his arms around Arthur and jugged him close. "Anyway we need to go see what my magic has been up to and make sure Bohart and the rest of our friends are okay. Though there is one thing we can be sure of," Merlin stepped away with a mischievous grin. "The King HAS returned!"

Laughing he took off running, Arthur close behind him.


	7. Made Up Language Words

**MADE UP LANGUAGE**

AB - so

ACOM - charge

AHSI - their

ANG - clues

ASAI - not

ASER - he

ASODI - think

BIO - at

CHAR - strap

CIEG - them

CISEY - team

COL - worse

COLY - might

DEHIC - body

DERA - now

DIO - as

DITCEAN - damage

E'TAC - sure

ERICHE - show

EYS - you

FAHEU - hate

FASH - yourself

FIMCASER - remembers

GACKNEY - secured

GACOY - this

GE - have

GEH - in

GISA - hit

HI'A - don't

HOTE - we

I - find

IM - I

ING - up

KUAN - took

LEMAL - going

LEDA - just

LEGASI - waiting

LEI - him

LERUNA - realize

LIUT - on

LUGI - light

LUNO - work

MAI - empty

MAZUMA - money

MIN - to

MOOZTH - month

MUGGO - but

NADAM - visible

NAM - there

NARA - us

NERAM - first

NIG - before

NIGHOGA - couldn't

NIOB - guard

NISA - they

O'SOD - past

RAMA - maybe

RAMAIE - leader

RODI - things

RUEG - is

RYE - need

SANU - know

SEDA - was

SES - soon

SEY - it

SIDO - time

SIRR - will

TAH - back

TAI - bad

TAY - much

TECCA - what

TEL - get

TID - bad

TAY - much

TECCA - what

TEL - get

TID - assign

TOGEE - give

UALI - where

YIF - fill

YIFS - filled

YIST - heart

ZI - a

ZO - if

ZOT - told


	8. Old English Words

**OLD ENGLISH**

BEDCÓFA: a bed place cubiculum

DRÉOR: blood

GELÁCNIAN: to heal, cure

ÍEWAN: to show, display, reveal, disclose, bring before the eyes, point out


End file.
